BondsOfFriendship
by Judge-Douglas-Mason
Summary: Greg gets attacked by a familiar face. Will he pull through? Sara gets shot, and its Brass to the rescue, in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Wish they were, but they're not. Que Sera Sera

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"Where the hell is Greg?" Grissom mumbled aloud to no one in particular

"I saw him this morning as I was leaving." Nick replied

"Well, will someone call him and wake him up?" Grissom growled

Nick pulled out his cell phone and called Greg. The phone rang a few times before Greg picked up. He sounded sleepy and not so coherent. The conversation lasted a few seconds before Greg's phone went dead. Nick turned to Grissom and expressed his concerns to him.

"He sounded kind out of it. He was mumbling something but I couldn't quite make it out."

"Ok, someone go over to his place and see what's wrong?" Grissom commanded

"I'll go and check on him." Nick volunteered

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Arriving at Greg's apartment, Nick's red flags went up when he saw that Greg's door was ajar. With the toe of his shoe, Nick opened the door more so that he could get in. Once inside he could clearly see signs of a struggle and just as he pulled his cell from his pocket to dial Grissom, he saw Greg lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Nick called 911 first and after that he called Grissom.

The ambulance was there in a matter of minutes and Grissom and crew arrived minutes later. As soon as Nick had called the ambulance the call went out over the police band and the night shift was given the scene.

They began to arrive just as Greg was being carted out on a gurney and loaded into the back of the bus. By the looks of him he had been worked over. His face looked like hamburger meat. His nose was broken, he had several cuts and bruises on his face, arms and legs. Greg was shirtless and just as he was being covered up the team could see that he had taken several hard blows to his torso as well. By the looks of things he had several broken ribs and most assuredly had some internal damage; but they wouldn't find out the extent of his wounds until he was in hospital and x-rays and MRIs had been done.

As the gurney was loaded into the back of the bus Catherine climbed in so she could accompany him to hospital and collect any and all evidence she could. It was a fairly smooth ride and as they made haste to hospital Catherine collected evidence from under his fingernails and took several swabs. When they arrived and Greg was taken to the OR, Catherine took possession of his clothes and other personal effects before they became too contaminated. Once that had been done she headed back to the lab and began to examine the scrapings from under his fingernails and test for any possible traces of DNA or trace evidence on his clothes. Sitting in the exam room she couldn't believe what had happened; who'd want to hurt Greg? To the best of her knowledge Greg was liked and loved by all. True, he could be a bit annoying at times, but when he came down to it he was all business.

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Back at the scene, the team was doing their thing when they came across a note scribbled on a slip of paper by the phone.

"Just ask him. He'd take a bullet for me."

These words rang in Nick's head as he remembered where he'd heard those words before. He had heard them on a video tape of Nigel Crane several years back when he was stalked and attacked by the man. Nick immediately bagged the note and showed it to Grissom who was currently taking photos of the apartment. Tapping him on the shoulder, Nick showed him the note and Gil's eyes got wide. He immediately recognized the words and called Catherine. He knew she was back at the lab because she had called him as soon as she had arrived back. He asked her to check on the status of Nigel Crane's incarceration and after a few moments let out a long sigh and hung up. Looking over to Nick, Grissom swallowed hard before sharing the bad news.

"Nigel Crane was paroled two weeks ago. Apparently he got time off for good behaviour." he explained

"So, first he goes after me and now he's out he goes after Greg? He never even met Greg; he was still a lab tech when Crane was arrested. Why would he go after Greg?" Nick replied

"There must be some reason why he came here. He could barely overpower me; and just look at what he did to Greg. He's no He-Man. He's rail thin and not really muscular. I hope he put up a good fight, and it looks like he did. Looks like he did, given the state of things. Stuff all over the place, broken lamps, chairs and tables. I hope Greg got a piece of him." Nick said as Grissom continued to take photos

On the floor, right beside where Greg had been laying, there was a stone statuette of Aladdin's lamp. It was just outside the pool of blood and Grissom hoped the blood on it was the perp's. By the size of the blood pool, Grissom could tell that Greg had lost a fair bit and hoped not too much. There was massive facial trauma and Greg had defensive wounds on his hands and arms. There was no evidence of a weapon or other implement of destruction that was used on Greg. It looked like strictly hands, fists and possible feet. Grissom hoped the statuette would yield the perp's blood rather then Greg's.

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The scene having been processed and everyone having returned to the lab, they all went to work analyzing fibres and other trace evidence that had been collected. Nick and Warrick were in DNA going over the hairs and swabs that were collected. They all hated that Greg's apartment had become a crime scene and that they had to sift through his belongings and personal stuff like every other crime scene. To them this was far more personal. Sara was running the prints she'd collected through AFIS while Nick and Warrick were running the swabs and blood samples through CODIS. After a few minutes the results came back as definitely belonging to Nigel Crane.

Feeling guilty, upset and confused, Nick excused himself to Grissom's office where Gil sat at his desk writing the preliminary report. Poking his head in the open door, he let Grissom know that he was going to hospital to check on Greg's status.

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In ICU, Greg was in bed bandaged nearly from head to toe. To Nick, Greg looked like a mummy, more than anything else. His nose had been mended, the cuts on his face, hands, arms and torso had been sutured and his left leg was in a cast from a broken tibia. Nick pulled up a chair and sat beside Greg for several hours. When he had arrived he had been warned that Greg was heavily sedated and most likely wouldn't wake any time soon. However, from speaking with Greg's doctor Nick got a whole different story. His doctor said that Greg was actually in a coma, most likely from the repeated blows he took to the head.  
He had several skull fractures and the doctors had to take out a section of his skull to relieve the swelling of the brain.

Nick felt awful about all the damage and pain that had been inflicted on Greg. He wondered why it was that Nigel hadn't done nearly as much damage to him but had nearly killed Greg; he was escalating. Greg could have died from the wounds he'd been subjected to and now he was in a coma, hooked up to all sorts of monitors. One to monitor his heart rate as well as one that monitored his brain activity. Internally, he was a mess as well. He had to have his spleen removed along with one of his kidneys and one of his lungs had collapsed from the broken ribs. The lung was no longer an issue because as soon as a chest tube had been inserted blood began to spill onto the floor and his breathing became more normal.

Sitting and looking at his friend, Nick couldn't help but feel for him. His heart truly went out to him. He looked so peaceful as he lay in bed. Even though he had been hooked up to a breathing machine and there were several Intravenous leads in his arms and the back of his hands, as well as EKG leads coming out from under his gown. He wanted to cry, but at the same time Nick wanted to remain strong for his friend.

After a while a nurse came to Nick and told him that it was customary for friends and family to donate blood. Hearing this, Nick left Greg's bedside and went outside to call the lab.

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In his office, Grissom was going over some old cases to take his mind off Greg's condition when his cell went off. Nearly jumping from his seat, he was startled when his cell went off. He pulled it from his pocket and answered it to hear Nick's voice. After his brief conversation with Nick, Grissom assembled the team in the break room and addressed them.

"I just received a call from Nick. Apparently Greg is in pretty bad shape. He said that a nurse is requesting that friends and family come in and donate blood. So, we'll put things on hold for a bit and go donate. Anyone that doesn't want to, I'll understand. I'm taking one of the trucks and I'm leaving now, so anyone that wants to come; follow me and we can all go in together." Grissom explained

Leaving the break room and grabbing a set of keys from his desk, Grissom et al climbed into the truck and drove to the hospital. When they arrived they were all seated in padded chairs and willingly gave blood. Greg was AB+ and out of sheer luck so were Nick and Grissom. Warrick was 0- and Catherine was B+. Greg was in good luck that so many of his friends and colleagues were of similar type as he. Nick, Grissom and Warrick gave multiple times with 1 hour intervals between donations.

When they were all done they were shown to where Greg lay and as they gathered round' his bed they could tell that when he woke up he'd be in a world of hurt. They all stood there for a few moments before returning to the lab.

When they arrived back they were greeted by Brass who had a giant grin on his face. Seeing them all walking down the hall, he chuckled a bit.

"Guess who I just picked up from Mercy?" he said

"Where is he?!" Grissom demanded

"He's at the precinct. Apparently he tried to check himself into the hospital and the police were immediately notified before any treatment had been given. His wounds are fresh and it even looks like Greg took a chunk out of his left hand; he's got a huge bite mark. Plus, his clothes are covered in blood and his knuckles are torn to shreds." Brass explained

"I'll go. Just let me grab his prints and DNA results. We'll throw this whack job back in prison, where he belongs." Nick said

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In the interrogation room Nigel Crane sat, cuffed to the table, and stared at Nick as he walked in. Nonchalantly, Brass and Nick sat around the table; their attention directed toward Crane who was just sitting there with a blank expression on his face. As it turned out, Greg had put up a fight. Crane had a bloody nose, two black eyes and a gash on his forehead. Nick took silent delight in the sight before him; now knowing that Greg took a piece of this dirt bag with him. While Crane was cuffed to the table, Nick opened his kit and took out some swabs and took some samples from Crane's knuckles, the bite on his hand and scraped his fingernails for possible DNA that would further link him to the assault.

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Back at the lab Nick and Warrick were going over the DNA samples that they had collected from Crane while Catherine went over Crane's clothes which had been collected and traded in for a bright orange jumpsuit. Crane was to be held in the tombs until his arraignment the following day.

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Seated in the courtroom, the team watched as Crane was brought before the judge and entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect...an insanity plea. He was remanded to the Clark County Detention Centre until his hearing. His barrister wasted no time in requesting a speedy trial and was granted one for the following week. That meant that the team had one week to make a case against Crane that would stand up in court and hopefully the judge and jury would throw the book at him.

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Most of the evidence having been collected, analyzed and identified, the team really didn't have much to do. The scrapings from Greg's fingernails along with what was collected from Crane were DNA tested and came up positive on both counts. The blood from Crane's clothes was identified as being Greg's and the swab from the bite on Crane's hand came up with Greg's DNA in it. Greg's clothes tested positive for Crane's blood as did the statuette with the blood on it. All pertinent evidence was placed in a box and set on a shelf in the evidence storage room for safe keeping.

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During the week the team members spent as much time with Greg as possible. It wasn't until the fourth day that Greg woke up. He was in severe pain and all but had the morphine drip control glued to his hand. He looked around to find Nick sitting at his bedside. With his good hand, Greg pointed to his breathing tube. Nick got up and went to find a nurse to remove the tube. A nurse followed Nick into Greg's room and removed the tube then went in search of his doctor. Looking down at the young man,  
Nick sighed.

"How ya' feeling?" Nick asked

Through a raspy voice, Greg said he was fine. Nick asked Greg how much he remembered from his accident and Greg said that he remembered seeing a familiar face on the other side of his apartment door and that he was holding a package. He opened the door and that's when Crane blitzed him. He remembered the struggle and that the next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital. Looking his body over, Greg sighed and asked for some water. Nick got up and went into the bathroom and returned with a cup of water for his friend.

"We got a slam dunk case, man." Nick said cheerily "We've got your blood on his clothes. We've got his blood on your clothes. We've got the fingernail scrapings from both of you that confirms that he was the guy that attacked you. Hell, we could probably get him on attempted homicide as well as the assault counts and the obvious parole violations. With any luck he'll be back in jail for a very long time." Nick explained

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Several days later Greg was released from hospital and returned home to find that the place had been cleaned up as best it could. After the scene had been released several team members had returned to put things back in their places. As Greg was wheeled into his apartment he expressed that he wanted to lay down and was wheeled into his bedroom and helped into bed by Nick and Warrick, who had accompanied him home from hospital. Guiding him onto his bed, Warrick set Greg's painkillers on the bedside table along with a glass of water. As he was leaving Greg's room, he turned round' and said something.

"Get well soon. We're probably gonna need you at Crane's trial." he said

Looking over at Warrick, Greg grinned.

"I'll be ready."


	2. Chapter 2

Climbing out of bed, Greg hobbled his way to the kitchen for some coffee. He was alone now, everyone having gone home. He poured himself a mug and set it on the coffee table in front of the tellie. He made his way to the hall closet and pulled out his cane from when he had sprained his ankle a couple of years back. With help of the cane, he limped into the bathroom and relieved himself. He wondered how he was going to bathe with the cast on his leg and decided that he'd be taking washcloth baths for a while. 

In the living room he sat on the couch and propped his leg up on the coffee table, took his mug of coffee and flipped on the tellie; surfing the channels until he found something good. He settled on a Strongman competition on OLN and settled in for some afternoon entertainment. He was trying not to take his painkillers because they dulled his senses and made him tired, so he was only taking ibuprofen. The over the counter pills weren't nearly as effective as the painkillers, but the happy pills that he' d been given were highly addictive and he didn't want to go down that road.

After a couple of hours there was a knock at his door so he hobbled over and looked through the peephole. It was Brass and he was baring gifts in the form of a wicker type basket full of coffee beans from Hawaii, fruit and some semi-pornographic magazines. Greg opened the door and let Jim in. Jim set the basket on the kitchen counter and joined his friend on the couch.

"So, up and about already? You got out, what, this morning?" Jim asked

"Yeah, I was going a bit stir crazy. I need to get back to the lab." he said, determined

"Whoa, man. If you go to the lab they'll stick you in DNA or some other place doing menial tasks. Is that what you want?"

"I want to be anywhere but here." Greg replied

"You should stay home and think about what you're going to say in court, because we're going to need your testimony." Jim stated

"I don't know how much help I can be. I mean, all I can remember is opening the front door and then this guy was all over me. I remember struggling with him and hitting him over the head with my Aladdin's lamp and he fell off of me. Then the phone rang and it was Nick. I tried to tell him to come over and that's when this guy knocked the phone out of my hand. The guy hit me over the head a couple times with something hard and then my lights went out. The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital with Nick by my side." Greg explained

"Well, it sounds to me like you remember a lot." Jim said

"So, this Crane guy, the same guy that got Nick, he's the guy that blitzed me? Why me? I never even met the guy." Greg said

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En route from the tombs at the police station to the detention centre the bus went off the road and landed sideways in a ditch. Still buckled in his seat, Crane and some other prisoners were able to free themselves by kicking out some windows and the top hatch. They all ran into the woods where they unlocked their cuffs with a key one of them got off a guard that was unconscious. After they were free they all went their separate ways with Crane standing just beyond the tree line wondering what to do and where to go. He couldn't go back to town, surely the cops would be looking for him. He had to find a place to lay low for a while. Finally, he began to wander and after about an hour he came upon an old, run down, lodge on the Desert National Wildlife Range. He knew he couldn't stay there long, as it was most likely that the accident had been reported to the police and they were probably scouring the area by now. He only had a couple hours head start on the officers and scent dogs, so he had to find a more permanent place to hide out. He'd have to make his way to the Lake Meade Rec. area. It'd be around 30 or 40 miles from where he was to Meade, but he had to get there. In the lodge there were some old, tattered clothes that he changed into. From there he hitched rides until he got to Lake Meade. His last ride being from an elderly man whom Crane killed because the guy wouldn't give up his car.

Wandering through the woods, Crane found a cavity in the forest from a downed tree. It was large enough for more than one person and Crane thought it would be a good place to hide out for a while; at least for the next few hours. However, he had to leave the state. He wasn't going to go back to jail; for him, that was a non-option. He decided he'd head north and try to slip into Canada, as Canada doesn't have an extradition treaty where the death penalty is concerned, and for the crimes he'd committed he'd most certainly get the needle. But he had unfinished business to attend to and he hated leaving a job undone.

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The call went out over the wire that the prison bus had overturned and the prisoners escaped. As soon as Brass heard this he notified the lab and Grissom. Being that Greg was now at home and Crane was on the run, Brass had two officers stationed outside Greg's apartment until they heard any word about Crane and in which direction he was heading. The common thinking was that Crane would head back and try to finish the job he'd started with Greg.

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It was night, now and as Crane headed back towards town he tried to stick to the back roads until he got to Greg's apartment. He parked a few blocks away and went the rest of the way on foot. He came to the back of the complex and scaled the lattice outside Greg's downstairs neighbour. He tried to force the window of Greg's kitchen, but his efforts were making too much noise.

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Greg was sitting on the couch when he heard a rattling sound from the kitchen. He got up and hobbled over and that's when he saw him. Greg rushed back to the coffee table in the living area and snatched up the walkie and radioed the officers outside.

"He's here, right outside my kitchen window. He's trying to break in through the back." he shouted

As he stood out on his balcony, Greg watched as the officers ran from their car and ran round' the back of the building. He hobbled across his apartment to the kitchen window and saw the officers flashlights heading off into the distance and out of view.

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Fleet of foot, Crane made it to his car just as the cops made it to the back of the building. He sped off with no one seeing him or his direction. He was still intent on finishing his job, but this new deterrent was something he hadn't counted on. He'd have to find another way to get to Greg.

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Grabbing his cell phone, Greg called Brass. Brass was on scene at a double homicide when his cell went off. He excused himself and went outside to take the call. When he saw Greg's name on the caller ID window he wondered what he might want. Answering the call, he was surprised to hear from Greg that Crane had just been there and that the two uniforms had given chase. He wondered how Crane knew he was out of hospital and back home. Jim wondered the same thing. Maybe Crane called the hospital, maybe he got a tip, maybe he heard the officers talking. Who knew? The crucial element now, was to get Greg to a safe place.  
Somewhere out of Crane's reach. Brass had an idea. He'd swing by Greg's place, pick him up and drive him to the lab where he'd be safe. There was a bunk room towards the back end of the building and Greg could stay there until Crane was either caught or an alternate place to keep Greg.

He had just enough time to pack a bag before Jim arrived and knocked on the door. Ever cautious, Greg grabbed an ASP off the table by the door and looked through the peephole. Seeing Brass, he slowly opened the door and handed Brass his bag. He locked the door and he and Jim made their way down to his car. Jim held the passenger door open for Greg and after he climbed in, Jim closed the door and walked around to the driver's side, climbed in and drove off to the lab.

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It wasn't much, but it would be home for a little while. The room was about 12x12 with several metal bunk beds and a small table. Greg set his bag on the floor and slid it under the bottom bunk that he sat on. Slowly, he leaned back and tried to go to sleep, but after half an hour of flopping around he realized that it wasn't going to happen. He got up and grabbed his cane and wandered down the hall to Grissom's office where he was sitting, doing personnel evaluations. Greg knocked on the open door and smiled when Grissom lifted his head from the report he was filling out. Gesturing for Greg to have a seat, he continued to smile as Greg tried to make himself comfortable. After a few moments, Greg sighed.

"How'd he know I was home?" Greg asked simply

Taking his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose, he sat up straight.

"I don't know, Greg. There are any number of ways he could find out. It could have been just as simple as him calling the hospital." he said

"He knows I'm out. So, where do I go from here? I get the feeling that he's not going to stop until he finishes the job. I think the only reason he didn't finish me off the first time is because he could hear the sirens approaching. That's the last thing I remember is the sirens."

"To be honest, Greg, I don't know what to do. Brass had two uniforms outside your apartment and Crane still almost got to you. He's very resourceful. It seems that he's determined to get to you, so we have to find a safe place to put you until we catch him again. Do you have any family you can stay with until he's caught?" Grissom asked

"I could stay with Papa Olaf, but he's all the way in Wisconsin. Can't I just hole up here until he's back in custody. I mean, I think this is the safest place. There's cops and techs and this place is well guarded. He couldn't get in here without someone seeing him, even if he wanted to. There's too many pairs of eyes and he's not exactly an easy face to forget." Greg theorized

"Greg, we don't know how long it'll be before he's caught. It might be days, weeks or months. Hell, we may never catch him. But one thing is clear; he's still after you and probably won't stop until he finishes what he's started. You can stay here until we find another, more permanent place for you. When the team gets back I'm sure someone will be willing to put you up for however long it takes." Grissom explained

"And if no one puts me up?"

"If no one is willing to put you up then you can stay with me at my place. I've got extra room, my front door is quadruple locked and my windows have bars as well as a security system. I've got all entry points wired for sound. If anyone so much as tries to force a window or the door the squelch alarm will go off and police will be there within minutes. Other than the lab, my place is probably the safest place in Vegas."

"Why all the precautionary measures?" Greg asked

"Well, there's no such thing as being too safe. Plus, with all the people I've helped put in jail, I figured that it would be prudent to take some simple protective steps." he went on

Sitting in his chair, assimilating all the information he'd just been given, Greg suddenly realized that he was sweating. I mean, really SWEATING. He stood up, took his cane and turned back to look at Grissom who was looking at him with a sympathetic face.

"I hope you're right." Greg said as he walked back into the hall

Greg settled in the break room and decided he'd play a little bit of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. He turned the tellie so it faced the couch and he found a comfortable position and began to play. After a few hours the team members started returning from their respective scenes and began to analyzing their evidence. Walking past the break room, Nick noticed Greg playing the play station. Coming in and sitting next to him, Nick confused.

"You got home this morning and now you're here. What's up?"

"Crane escaped and came after me tonight. So, Brass came by, picked me up and dropped me here. I'm currently between residences right now. Brass says I should stay away from my apartment for the foreseeable future; as long as Crane is out there. Grissom thinks Crane is determined to finish what he started and since I can't go home, I'm staying here unless someone takes me in." Greg explained

"Well, hell, you can stay with me. Since that nut stalked me I had a state of the art security system installed. Everything is wired, there are nice, wrought iron bars on the windows, multiple locks on the doors, the attic entry points are wired too. The windows; if you put more than 5lbs of pressure on them, a really noisy alarm goes off and the police show up within minutes. My place is sealed like a zip-lock bag. Stay with me, I've got more than enough room." Nick offered

"As long as you're sure. I don't want to impose."

"Its not an imposition; I asked you to stay. It'll be fun." Nick said cheerily

Relieved that he had a place to go, Greg perked up a bit and went back to his game. He played some more until it was time for everyone to go home.

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Pulling in the drive, Greg could see the bars on the windows. The place looked like a fortress. Nick even had an iron and screen door that needed unlocking before you could gain access to the main front door.

Helping Greg with his luggage, Nick guided him up the stairs and into the house. Once inside, Greg was shown to the guest room where he dropped his bag and sat on the bed.

Standing in the doorway, Nick smiled.

"Call this home for as long as that nutcase is out there. You're welcome for as long as it takes. Ok?" Nick said

"Thanks, man."


	3. Chapter 3

I want to thank all the people that have been reading this and my other Greg stories for their positive reviews. Greg isn't exactly my primary character to write about, as I'm a certifiable Brass Nut. However, I do like to play around with Greg some, as he's my second choice, after Brass. So, thank you all for reading and reviewing my Greg based stories. It is a joy to write them.  
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It was Greg's first night at Nick's place and since he was on a hiatus of sorts, he familiarized himself the layout of Nick's home. It was easy enough to negotiate through the hallways and different rooms without knocking anything over or bumping into anything. The pain was intense, but since Greg didn't want to take the painkillers that his doctor had prescribed, he had an ample supply of ibuprofen.

In the kitchen, Greg opened the fridge and saw that Nick was a take-out man. There were numerous cartons and food in Tupperware containers with food and leftovers. Since he didn't have a car, Greg pulled out his credit card and went online and ordered some groceries from Pea-Pod. By the time Nick would return home there would be a nice home cooked meal waiting for him. In the interim, Greg did a bit of cleaning around the house.

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Nick had a scene of his own and was hard at work dumpster-diving, looking for the hands and feet of a body that had been found in said dumpster. David had taken the body away an hour prior and now Nick was covered in filth and discarded foodstuffs. He smelled of rotten tomatoes and urine. He was wearing his jumpsuit, but had a feeling that the smell would permeate the suit and seep into his pores. He was nearly at the bottom of the dumpster when he started thinking out loud.

"Lemons, limes; citrus. Anything with citrus. And Lava, lots of Lava. Its got pumice in it and pumice is an exfoliant. Gotta' get the stench off me." he said, grumbling

Just then Grissom rolled up from his scene that was about seven blocks away. He climbed from his truck and grabbed his kit. Nick had no idea that Grissom was there until his cell went off. Fishing it from his pocket, he answered.

"Stokes. What!? I can't believe it. Well, apart from the body, I got nothing. Well, I do smell like dead fish and eau de urine. Where are you? Oh."

He stood up and popped his head out of the dumpster and saw Grissom standing there with a big grin on his face.

"Your dead body might be related to my scene. I found two hands and two feet in a plastic bag at the edge of a storm drain. God, you smell awful. So, climb out of there and take any evidence back to the lab."

Nick crawled out of that stink hole and picked up the evidence bags he'd collected. He'd found a purse with no identification, but lots of other stuff. He also found clothing and a pair of heels. He loaded the back of his truck and quickly covered the driver's seat with a sheet of plastic so the truck wouldn't stink. He drove at break-neck speeds to get back to the lab, so that he could shower before going over the evidence he'd collected.

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At the house that belonged to the old man that he'd killed, Crane made himself as comfortable as he could. There was no call that went out in regard to the old man having gone missing and by the looks of his house, he didn't have any family. There were no pictures of children or grandchildren. In point of fact, there were no pictures whatsoever. In his mind, he could stay there for as long as was necessary in order to accomplish his unfinished task. He knew, that first night, that Greg wouldn't be staying at his own apartment anymore, so it went to figure that he'd be staying with someone else. The trick was to find out where he would be staying and that meant a tail. But as Greg wasn't at the lab it would be difficult to figure out where he was. He might have to tail each team member to find Greg's location, but he hated leaving things unfinished and the current situation being as it was, he was growing more and more impatient everyday.

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At Nick's place Greg was checking the security of the house when the house phone went off. Greg checked the caller ID and recognized the number as being from the lab. He picked up and held a brief conversation with Grissom, who had called to check up on him and to make sure he was comfortable. Satisfied that Greg was safe and comfy, Grissom ended the conversation with a promise that he'd stop by at the end of shift for a different sort of conversation.

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Sitting in his new car, Crane watched as the team members climbed into their own vehicles and went home. Today he chose to follow Warrick home in hopes that he was harboring Greg, however, when Warrick arrived home, Crane parked a couple houses down the street so that he might survey the house. He waited until Warrick went inside, most likely taking a shower first. Crane took this opportunity to look through the windows and forced the back door open, which didn't take all that much force.

Hearing the bathroom door close and the spray of the water, Crane went briskly through the house and seeing that Greg was nowhere in sight, he left out the back door as quickly as he had come in, with Warrick none the wiser.

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Grissom had just pulled up in front of Nick's house when the front door opened and Greg stepped out onto the porch. After the greeting, they both went inside and sat on the couch and began to discuss the inevitable; Nigel Crane.

"We're still looking for him and that's when something struck me. Crane is obsessive compulsive and for him to leave a task unfinished is something he won't allow himself to do. There's the very real possibility that he's still looking for you and might go as far as to follow the other team members home in hopes of finding you. Now, you're safe here, for the moment, but I was thinking that we might bounce you back and forth between here and my place. We both have security systems and both our homes are well protected. I've just had a security camera installed just outside my front door with a monitor inside so that I can see my visitors. I think, my place is safer than here. Which is not to say that you're not safe here, but you'll be safer at my place. So, I'll help you gather your belongings and we can move you in with me."

Greg was unsure as to what he should do. He had been given the gracious invitation by Nick, but in a way, he had to agree with Grissom. With all the precautions he had taken to ensure the safety of his home, the best place for him would be at Grissom's apartment. While Greg gathered his gear, Grissom scribbled down a note letting him know that Greg was going to stay with him until Crane was apprehended.

They both climbed in Grissom's truck and set out for his apartment. Once there, Grissom took Greg's bags while Greg hobbled up the stairs and waited for Grissom to open the door. Once inside, Grissom took Greg's bags to the guest room while Greg took a look around. He had never been over to Grissom's and contrary to his office at the lab, his home was spotless; almost to the point of him being a neat freak. Greg heard Grissom call to him from down the hall and followed his ears. The guestroom was large enough, with a queen sized bed, a nice wardrobe and a private bathroom.

Greg was tired beyond all belief and once his bags have been stowed, he lay on the bed and took the time for a nap. It wasn't until hours later, when he woke, Greg realized that he was in unfamiliar surroundings. He hobbled to his feet and grabbed his cane and went out to the main living area to find Grissom at his work table playing with his butterflies. Hunched over the edge of the worktable he looked deeply engrossed by something. With his headphones on, Grissom was listening to a tape; the tape from Nick's abduction. He was trying to identify the second voice on the tape. If he could identify the second voice then they'd have a suspect to charge in the kidnapping and attempted homicide of Nick. Grissom had been driving himself crazy trying to figure this out but every time he thought he had something he lost it.

Unaware that Greg was behind him, he jumped when he was tapped on the shoulder. Quickly removing his headphones, Grissom spun round' and looked at Greg. At present Greg was leaning against one of the metal bookshelves. Grissom smiled wide.

"So, you're awake. Are you hungry? Want some coffee?" he offered

"No thanks, man. I'm good. I just can't wait to get back to the lab. I'm going out of my mind sitting around doing nothing. I feel like a lump. Even if its just working in the lab; I'd rather be there than here. No offense intended. I just feel like I need to make myself useful." he said

"I know exactly how you feel. When I broke my leg a couple of years ago and had to stay home, I went nuts. So, after a few days I started going back into the lab and restricted myself to desk duty. That helped me stay sane." Grissom explained

"So, I'll go into the lab and restrict myself to desk duty; you know, stay in the lab."

"That's fine with me. Just don't take on more than you can bear."

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It was time to go in and both Grissom and Greg went in. Unbeknownst to either of them, Crane was sitting in an empty parking spot near the entrance to the lab lot. He was watching every car that came in and when he saw Grissom come in with Greg as his passenger, he sat up straight and watched where they parked. Now he knew that Greg was staying with Grissom. The trick would be how to get Greg to leave the lab or get him alone.

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In DNA, Greg was doing his thing when his cell went off. He opened it up to see a text message from Nick to meet him in the vehicle bay. He hobbled down the hall and around the corner and when he looked into the room, he noticed that the garage door was open, but Nick was nowhere in sight. He called out but got no response. Cautiously, he stepped down and made his way around the room. There was a car up on the rack and as Greg went to take a closer look at it, that's when it hit him from behind. His head was slammed against the rear bumper and he hit the ground. He was semi-conscious when he felt the first blow hit him in the side. Instinctively, he curled up in a ball while he endured his beating. He sustained several blows to the head and opened his eyes to see a brief flash of a pair of bolt cutters coming towards him. He felt a sharp pain in his left arm as well as his side and left thigh bone. His cast had been shattered and when he opened his eyes a second time he saw the business end of the cutters coming down on his hand. He called out for help, but no one came. His assailant began to beat him about the face and torso with his fists, and that's when he felt what felt like a chain around his neck. He could hear the pulley and chain rattling as he was hoisted up off the ground and forcibly lifted up off the ground and into the air.

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Grissom had just stepped out of his office and was walking down the hall when he heard the commotion in the vehicle bay. He ran back to his office, grabbed his gun and hot-footed it to the vehicle bay to see Crane hoisting Greg up. Aiming his gun at Crane, he shouted.

"Drop the chain. Drop the chain or I'll fire."

Crane just looked at him with a blank expression on his face while he continued to hoist Greg up. Grissom fired once and hit Crane in the shoulder. When he didn't drop the chain, Grissom fired a second time, he hit Crane in the leg. Crane dropped the chain and grabbed his thigh. Seeing Grissom approaching him, Crane ran as fast as he could, out of the open bay door and into the dead of night.

On the floor, Greg lay battered, bruised and broken in several places. He was in far worse shape than he was after his first beating. Kneeling beside him, Grissom called 911 from his cell and while he waited for the bus he ran to his office for his kit so that he could "process" Greg for any sort of evidence that Crane may have left behind; anything that might give them a clue as to where he was staying.

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Pulling up to the back end of the lab, the bus parked and paramedics jumped out and brought a gurney with them. They secured Greg's neck and rolled him onto a backboard. They carefully loaded him onto the gurney and into the back of the bus. The sirens went on and the bus flew from the back lot to the hospital. Grissom followed in his truck and on his way he sent out a blanket text message that Greg had been attacked again and that he was on his way to hospital.

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As Crane drove back to the house he was bleeding. He told himself that the first thing he needed to do when he got back was to remove the bullets. He pulled into the drive and exited the car. He went inside and looked around for a pair of tweezers or needle-nose pliers. He found both and as he sat on the toilet seat he removed the bullet from his leg and sewed himself up with needle and thread. He got up and faced the mirror above the sink and removed the bullet from his shoulder with the pliers. The bullet dropped into the sink and as he looked at his wound he was livid. As he sutured himself again he told himself that Grissom would pay for interrupting him when he had almost finished his task.

All sutured up and the bleeding having stopped, he went to the basement in search of a certain method of destruction; dynamite. It wasn't uncommon for people in Vegas or the outlying suburbs and countryside to have dynamite, as there were many gold mines in the surrounding areas, some on private land, some on public land. Crane found what he was looking for and began to construct a bomb that would most assuredly eliminate the Grissom element.

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At the hospital, Greg was in the OR having pins placed in his leg, arm and hand. His initial bruises had just begun to turn a lovely shade of deep purple and now he had more bruises on top of them. He had a shattered eye orbit, a broken jaw in two places, a skull fracture on the back of his head and several other, compounded wounds and fractures.

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Back at the lab, Nick had just returned and learned that Greg had been attacked and that Grissom had gone with him to hospital. He immediately placed his evidence in safety and then went to hospital where he found Grissom in the family waiting area filling out forms. He took a seat beside him and let out a deep sigh.

"What happened?" he asked simply

Turning to Nick, he tried to get past the lump in his throat so he could explain.

"Apparently, Greg was in the vehicle bay when he was attacked by Crane." he said

"How'd Crane get in?"

"The garage door was open." Grissom replied

"What was he doing in the bay?"

"I wondered the same thing. I found his cell phone on the floor and when I opened it there was a text message from you asking him to meet you in the bay." Grissom explained

"A message from me?"

"Yes. I think that's how he lured Greg out of DNA and into an area that was more secluded so he could finish his job on Greg. When I got to the bay Crane had a chain around Greg's neck and was hoisting him up using the pulley. I trained my gun on him and ordered him to drop the chain but he wouldn't do it, so I had to shoot him. I shot him twice." he explained

"You shot him and he didn't drop the chain?"

"Not until the second shot hit him in the leg." he replied

"If you shot him, that means he's bleeding. I'm going back to the lab to process the bay and the outside area. Maybe we'll get lucky and find out how he got there and how he's getting around." Nick said, standing up.

Nick left the room and headed back to the lab where he went straight to the vehicle bay. Sure enough, there was a blood pool with drops leading away from the bay and outside. Nick followed the trail until it stopped. Shining a very bright light on the ground, he saw tire marks from when Crane laid rubber out of there. He also found some dirt on the ground as well as a receipt on the ground from a gas station. This was a great clue, as it might give them some sort of idea as to where Crane was holed up. The address for the station was in Henderson and dated that day at 6:pm.

Nick jumped into his truck and drove out to the gas station and showed the receipt to the attendant.

"Do you remember this sale? A guy, about 5'8, black hair, black rimmed glasses, average build, probably a little squirrelly." Nick asked, showing his ID

The attendant remembered the sale, sure enough.

"Yeah. Some little guy. Really nervous. Paid cash. Filled up at pump number 4." he said

"Do you remember which direction he came from?"

"Yeah. He came peeling in here from the East."

"Do you remember what kind of car he was driving?" Nick asked anxiously

"No, but I've got the security tapes. You can have a look at them." the attendant offered

Nick was led to a room in the back where he sat at a desk and viewed the tapes from that night until he came to where Crane pulled in. He was driving a new model Ford Crown Vic. He couldn't quite make out the plate, but he got a partial; the first five. He asked the attendant if he could take the tape with him for evidence and the attendant had no problem with it.

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Back at the lab, Nick was in the A/V lab with Archie trying to sharpen the image of the plate on Crane's car. If they could get a clear reading, then they could get an address and arrest the bastard. After a few minutes of tweaking the image they came up with a clear view. They ran the plate number and it came back as a Ford Crown Victoria, registered to one Edmund Abernathy. The address was just outside Henderson, close to Hoover Dam.

Nick immediately called Brass for a search warrant and gave him all the pertinent poop. Brass bootstrapped a warrant and within an hour Nick, Warrick, Brass and several officers were on their way to arrest Crane.

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The driveway was long and well worn. They drove down the drive with lights and sirens off and parked just outside the view of the house. Brass climbed out of his car with a pair of binoculars and looked at the house from behind an old, rusted out truck. There was no car near the house, which probably meant that Crane was away. However, since they had their search warrant, they exercised it. All the cars converged on the house and that's when they saw a separate structure that could be used as a garage or car port.

Two officers checked the "barn", for lack of a better term, and found nothing. At the same time, Jim Brass kicked in the front door of the house and was followed in by a team of officers. The house was swept and found to be clean, with no evidence of Crane.

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Slowly driving down the drive, Crane spotted the police cars and dust that had been kicked up by the vehicle activity. He saw no officers outside and figured he hadn't been seen, so he backed out of the drive and towards Vegas, dumping it under a bridge and walking through the city. Now that he had been found out he had to find another place to stay. That's when he remembered where he used to live and the little old lady that lived next to him. He knew that she had no family to speak of and figured that she'd be an easy enough target for him.

He had ditched his glasses for contacts and as he approached his old house he wondered about the old lady. He didn't want to kill her but if push came to shove, he might have to. He'd much rather bind her and stick her in a closet or something.

Walking round' the back of the back of the house, he jimmied the door open and walked through the house until he found the old lady in the living area drinking tea and eating biscuits. With some duct tape that he'd brought with him, he taped her mouth from behind. She didn't put up much of a fight and he went on to tape her eyes and lead her into a large closet where he taped her hands and feet, then closed the door. He'd take care of her, as she was always nice to him. He'd feed her, giver her water and lead her to the bathroom several times a day. He hated that he had to do this to her, but his options were slim and he knew that the police would never look for him in his old neighbourhood. He figured they'd think it would be foolish of him to return to his old stomping grounds.

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The house was clean and Brass couldn't help but kick himself for wasting a warrant. After the house was completely swept and nothing found, they all left and returned to the city. As Brass sat in his office thinking about what could have gone wrong, his cell went off. It was Grissom calling from the hospital to say that Greg was out of surgery and in pretty bad shape. He was more or less in a body cast and his mouth had been wired shut. He was still unconscious, but he was stable.

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At the lab Nick was trying to think of where Crane might be. Since he could no longer stay at the old man's house, he thought that Crane might return to the familiar. His house had been sold and that's when he remembered the little old lady from next door that spoke so kindly of Crane. He got up from his desk and went out to the lot and got in his car. With Crane's face plastered all over the news there were few places he could hide.

On his way to Crane's old neighbourhood Brass wondered if Crane would really be stupid enough to return to what used to be a crime scene. Pulling up in front of the old lady's house he noticed that the front door was slightly open. He got out of his car slowly and drew his gun. He walked up the stairs and nudged the door open with the toe of his shoe and entered the house while announcing his presence. He didn't find Crane, but on his way out he thought he heard a mumbling coming from a closet by the front door. His gun trained, he carefully opened the door and found the old lady bound and sitting on the floor. He introduced himself and then called for back-up.

Minutes later police cars arrived followed by a Denali from the lab. Catherine and Warrick exited the vehicle, kits in hand and entered the house. Warrick carefully removed the tape from her eyes and mouth and then from her hands and feet. He carefully placed the pieces of tape in evidence bags while Catherine processed the rest of the house. Brass asked her if she knew the person who did this to her and she named Crane. She said that he was uncommonly nice for the actions he was committing. Luckily she had only been in the closet for s few hours and there was no physical trauma.

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Driving down the street Crane could see all the police cars and decided to drive past the house. He drove towards the desert and ditched the car by the side of the road and got out and begin to hitch. Walking by the side of the road for about half an hour Crane was thinking about how he'd find a new place to stay and how he'd finish Greg off. He was in hospital and that posed a serious problem. How would he get in, do his thing, and get out without anyone noticing him? With all his efforts having been put forth and stopped at every turn, he was beginning to get seriously pissed off. He figured that Greg wouldn't be watched the entire time he was in hospital, so he'd park in the employee lot and wait for an orderly to come in. He'd knock them out, change into their clothes. With his contacts in he'd be harder to recognize and he might be able to get close enough to Greg to finish up. He knew that he'd be hooked up to monitors and the like, so he settled on a simple plan. An empty syringe and an air bubble into Greg's IV would do the trick.

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Grissom got up for some more coffee, leaving Greg alone for the moment. It was in that moment that Crane, dressed in scrubs, entered the hospital and made for the ICU. Having grabbed a syringe from an obliging utility tray, Crane made his way closer to Greg. Pulling back curtain after curtain, he finally found Greg in bed and unconscious. He pulled the syringe from his pocket and moved closer to Greg's main IV line. He punctured the line and introduced the air into the line. Figuring his job was over, Crane swiftly walked back down the hall and out of the building, heading straight for his car. Satisfied, he drove out of the lot and headed away from the hospital to parts unknown.


	4. Chapter 4

Grissom was just returning from getting his coffee when he saw a male nurse leaving Greg's area. Thinking this odd, because a nurse had come in right before he left, he took a closer look at Greg and that's when he noticed the IV line and the air bubble traveling downward towards Greg's hand through the IV line. Acting quickly, he tore the line from Greg's hand before the bubble could reach the catheter needle. With blood coming from the back of Greg's hand, Grissom ran out into the hall, gave chase and attempted to catch the nurse before he made it outside; however, he was unsuccessful. The nurse was lost in the parking lot. Grissom pulled out his cell phone and called Brass and relayed the events that just took place. Hearing this,  
Brass radioed for all units in the area to converge on the hospital entrances and exits. Within seconds there were a multitude of squad cars blocking all entrances and exits. The cars arrived too soon for any vehicles to exit the lot, save for one;  
Crane's. 

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Back inside, Grissom was still on the cell with Brass and demanded that a police guard be placed outside Greg's area and that no one be admitted without an ID or other verification. Within minutes an officer arrived and stood watch over Greg while Grissom went outside to meet Brass who would arrive minutes later.

Walking down the hall, Grissom and Brass headed for Greg as Grissom explained things.

"I came back from getting coffee and saw a nurse leaving Greg's area, which was odd because a nurse came just before I left for coffee. I took a close look at Greg's monitors and lines, I noticed a bubble in the main line. I removed it from his hand and tried to go after the nurse; I think it was Crane. We'll find out soon enough; he dropped the syringe on the floor. We get a print and we can get a conviction. If it was Crane then we can add another charge of attempted homicide." Grissom explained

"Yeah. But we have to catch him first. Thus far he's eluded us at every turn. Now we've got squad cars at every entrance and exit to the hospital lots. If he drove here, we'll get him. Now, if he walked, that's another story." Brass replied

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He drove around aimlessly while he thought about his next move. Now that Greg had been taken out, all he had to do was teach Grissom his lesson. He drove to his old neighbor's house and retrieved the bomb he'd made and from there he went to the lab where he'd wait for Grissom to return.

He was unaware of the fact that Greg was still alive and thusly, he let his guard down a bit. He drove to the lab and waited for Grissom's return. It would be several hours, but that was fine with Crane; he was a patient person. Finally, around sunrise, Grissom returned and transferred some of the contents of his Denali to his personal car; all with Crane watching him. Grissom went back inside to his office to work on some case files while Crane was outside rigging up the bomb to Grissom's personal vehicle.

It had been about an hour and a half and Grissom was tired beyond belief. All he wanted to do was go home and go to sleep. He took his attachИ case, locked his office door and headed out to the lot. Standing outside his car, keys in hand and looking down at the door lock, Grissom noticed an odd reflection on the ground. He set his things on the roof and dropped to his knees to look under the car. What he saw was truly frightening to him. There was this little red light was blinking on and off and as Grissom turned on the mini-lite from his key chain, he could see that the light was attached to a black box the size of a pop-tart. Upon further inspection he noticed that several sticks of dynamite had been painted black and were attached to the box.

He had just sighed when Brass pulled in the lot and saw him on the ground. Stopping his car and getting out, he joined Grissom on the ground and looked at where Grissom shone the light. With his usual wit and charm, Jim commented.

"Who'd you piss off?" he asked, chuckling

Grissom thought for a moment before answering.

"Most likely Crane. I stopped him killing Greg. Now that he believes he's finished Greg off, I guess I'm his new target." he said

"Well, let's get outta here before your car blows up and we become a permanent part of the stucco exterior of this lab." Jim said, pointing to the building

They both got up and headed back inside where Grissom called the bomb squad from his office. Once they arrived Grissom and Brass stood to the side while the bomb was dismantled and removed from the undercarriage of Grissom's car. Now, Grissom was second guessing going home and going to bed. Seeing he was tired, Brass offered him the guest room at his place. Grissom accepted Jim's offer and within the hour Grissom was at Brass's place, asleep in the guestroom.

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Greg's guard had just been changed and the previous officer left for home while his relief took up his new station outside Greg's new room. The lab and the police were taking no chances in leaving Greg alone until Crane was apprehended and incarcerated.

Shift was over and feeling very guilty, Nick came to visit Greg. As he approached Greg's room, the officer took notice and actually drew his weapon and pointed it at Nick.

"Stop where you are. Where's your identification?" he demanded

His hands in the air, Nick was surprised to have a gun in his face. With one hand still up, he reached in his back pocket and pulled out his CSI ID and handed it to the officer. Satisfied, the officer gave Nick his ID back and let him in to see Greg. Since the attempt on Greg's life he had been moved to a secure room of his own with only one point of entry; unless someone wanted to scale the outside of the hospital; four stories. But that would be pointless as the windows didn't open wide enough for anyone to get inside.

Pulling up a seat and sitting at Greg's bedside, Nick took Greg's hand in his and prayed. It had been some time since Nick had prayed; since he was in his plexi-glass coffin. He lay his head on Greg's bedside and silently prayed that Greg would pull through and that Crane would be apprehended and thrown back in jail.

He had been there for a couple of hours when Warrick and Catherine showed up to pay their respects. They joined Nick and seated themselves around Greg's bed. It didn't look as though he would wake anytime soon and they were all scared for him. He almost didn't make it the last time and this time he was injured a bit more severely. Though there was little internal damage, the broken bones and external wounds and damage were more apparent than last time.

Trying to make a little light of the situation, everybody from the lab signed his various casts, with Brass's signing being the best. It read:

I

I Do

I Do This

I Do This To

I Do This To Take

I Do This To Take Up

I Do This To Take Up Space

Whenever anyone looked at it they laughed. Nick's contribution was a bit more personal. He found a photo of the whole team and taped it to Greg's cast using clear packing tape. The photo was completely covered by the tape so there wouldn't be any scratches on it. Even Grissom signed the cast with a simple quote.

"You can always have the last word when you talk to yourself."

People laughed at that one, too.

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On the run and looking for a place to stay, Crane was running out of options; he could stay on the street or he could check into one of the numerous motels in the downtown district. However, since his face was plastered all over the news and papers there were few places he could hide. He thought about returning to the desert and commandeering another house and decided that that would be the best option for him. He hotwired a car and drove up and down I-15 until he found a house set far back from the highway that looked to be abandoned. The windows were all boarded up and the "Condemned" sign on the front door made the house more promising. Even more convenient was the empty barn beside the house that he could stash the car in. What was even better was the mine on the property. It was set back behind the house and was guarded by an iron gate. Inside the mine were several shafts that lead off in different directions and seemed to go on for miles. Upon further reflection, Crane decided he'd stay in the mine with the gate locked. That way if the police decided to canvass the area looking at possible places he might be, they'd look at the house, but not the mine. You couldn't see the entrance from the house and the opening was facing away from the road instead of being immediately visible from the house. To the outside observer all one could see was desert in every direction and you could only see the opening if you went looking for it.

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It had been several days since the second attack on Greg and the planting of the bomb under Grissom's car. Crane was filling the car with gas when he saw his face on the evening news. He could barely hear what the reporter was saying, but what he heard troubled him.

"This man, Nigel Crane, is wanted for the murder of Edmund Abernathy and the attempted murder of two of Vegas's own; Greg Sanders and Gil Grissom of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. While the attempts on the members of the crime lab failed, Greg Sanders was savagely beaten and nearly killed by Crane on two separate occasions. Anyone with any news on the whereabouts of Nigel Crane can call the TIPS line at KL5-0142. There is a reward for anyone who provides any information that results in the apprehension and arrest of Mr. Crane."

Hearing this, Crane panicked and held his head low while he gave the gas station attendant the money for the gas and then sped off, heading towards downtown. He was furious that his efforts were for naught. He had to revise his plan. Maybe he'd go in reverse order this time; he'd eliminate Grissom first and then go back for Greg.

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The shift was over and those that didn't go home went to the hospital to visit with Greg. Grissom went home with plans to visit Greg before shift. He pulled into the lot of his apartment complex and when he made it to his front door there was a box addressed to him with no return address. Immediately suspicious, he went back down to his car and grabbed the flashlight from his kit. Returning to the box, he nudged it with the end cap of the light and nothing happened. He carefully picked it up and placed his ear to the box and listened. He thought he heard a faint ticking and decided to leave the box closed. He carefully carried it down to his car, dusted it for prints and returned to the lab.

Box in hand, he made for the morgue. Luckily enough, Dr. Robbins hadn't left yet and as Grissom carried the box inside, he placed it on one of the slabs and pulled the overhead x-ray toward him. He switched it on and moved it over the box and watched on the monitor as the image was displayed. Sure enough, it was another bomb. Seeing this, Dr. Robbins ordered Grissom to take the box outside where the bomb would do the least amount of damage when and if it went off.

Standing outside, Grissom called Brass who in turn called the bomb squad to come and take a look at the box. A 100ft perimeter was set around the box and some of the lab techs as well as Grissom and Brass watched as a man in a heavily padded suit and helmet with face plate inspected the box. Carefully, he removed a lock-back knife and cut the tape that held the box closed. Slowly, he shined a light inside without opening the flaps. There was a wire attached to the underside of the flap, so when the box was opened the bomb would go off. The man got up and backed away from the box and stood at the perimeter and explained what he saw.

"There's a wire attached to the underside of the flap. I think if you open the flap the bomb will detonate. There's no way to tell what the radius of the damage will be. I could cut the wire from the flap, but that might make it go off. I suggest you move all vehicles from this area and we detonate. Close the garage door and stand outside the gate; that'll buy us another fifty feet."

The vehicles were moved and when everything was clear, the onlookers hid behind some of the moved cars while Brass and Grissom stood in the open, but behind the gate. A sharpshooter with a beanbag gun took aim and fired on the box with the intention of the sudden jarring motion causing the bomb to go off. The gun was fired and it exploded, sending shrapnel flying everywhere; even past the 150ft mark. The people behind the cars were protected but as for Grissom and Brass; they were hit. Grissom was hit in the legs by several carpenter's nails as was Brass. From the flat of their backs, Grissom and Brass could see the nails sticking out of their legs. Struggling to get up, they braced themselves against the nearest cars and made it to their feet. Looking down at their legs, they were in obvious pain. Brass tried to remove one of the nails but it was in too deep. An ambulance was called and both of them were taken to hospital where the nails were removed and they both received tetanus shots. They were released after a couple of hours and returned to the lab.

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The prints from the box were ran through AFIS and came back as belonging to Nigel Crane. The results were delivered to Grissom who was in his office. Reading the results, Grissom couldn't help but think that Crane was certainly racking up charges. This most recent attempt made it two times that Crane had tried to kill Grissom. He immediately called the hospital and enquired about Greg. He was still unconscious and stable and he was still under guard. Brass was in Gil's office and used his own cell phone to call the station and ordered that Greg's guard be doubled.

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Crane had been one of the onlookers at the lab and had seen the cautious detonation of the box and the precautions they took made him livid. He just couldn't seem to get anything right. His attempts on Greg had failed as had his attempts on Grissom. He was slowly going insane from all his failures. This made him think that his best chance was to get Grissom and Greg in the same place at the same time and kill them both. However, that meant he'd have to wait until Greg got of hospital and he was fairly certain that Greg would be staying with Grissom, as he'd seen the camera outside his door when he dropped the box off. He tried to think of a way to bypass the security system and get into Grissom's apartment.

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It had been two weeks since Greg's most recent beating and as Brass sat vigil over his friend and colleague, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Greg was stirring. Jim looked up and saw the sloppy smile on Greg's face. Brass patted Greg's hand a couple of times and got up for a nurse to remove the breathing tube. With a sore throat and his lips dry, he asked Jim for some water with a raspy voice. Jim went into the bathroom and returned with a plastic cup with some water and a straw from a food tray in the hall. Before giving Greg the water, Jim pulled some lip balm from his pocket and applied it to Greg's dry, cracked lips. That having been done, he gave Greg the water and Greg drank it all.

From the phone in Greg's room Brass called Grissom to tell him that Greg was awake. Grissom jumped from his seat, grabbed his jacket and headed straight for the hospital. Once there, he headed straight for Greg's room, ID in hand. Opening the door, he was glad to see the young CSI awake and asking questions. At present, Greg was asking Brass about the status of Crane.

"Well, he snuck in here, dressed as an orderly, and tried to kill you by injecting an air bubble into your main IV line, but Grissom caught it just before it hit the needle on the back of your hand. Crane also tried to blow Grissom up twice. We have no idea where he's hiding out and that has become a priority task. We need to find him before he tries to blow anyone up or make another attempt on yours or Grissom's life." Brass explained

"Why is he so dead set on wiping me out? I mean, I never even met the guy." Greg asked

"Who knows what whack jobs think?" Brass replied

"Where am I gonna go when they release me?"

Stepping into view, Grissom answered.

"With me." Grissom stated

Greg looked over to Gil and gave a lopsided smile.

"You'll stay with me until this thing ends and Crane is caught. I won't have it any other way." he said

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In the abandoned house, Crane was taking his frustrations out on the interior walls of the house with a baseball bat. He accidentally hit a support beam and the upstairs floor came crashing down on him; pinning him to the floor. While he was grounded he let his mind wander in regard to Grissom and Greg. He remembered the first time he saw Greg. It was while he was in jail and Greg and Nick came to visit a person of interest related to a crime scene. Crane had his own visitor but saw Nick and Greg clear enough. When Crane was done with his visitor he got up and walked right past the person Nick and Greg were talking to and when he eyeballed Nick, Nick flinched and Greg gave Crane the evil eye. Crane figured that if he couldn't get Nick he'd get those closest to him; and he decided to start with Greg. Grissom was an added bonus, because he'd stopped him killing Greg. Make no mistake, he would go after Nick, but Crane had others in mind before he went for Nick again. He already knew where Warrick lived and how to get into his house. He knew where Sara lived because he'd tailed her one night. He'd leave Catherine for last because she had a child and he'd have to get her while Lindsay wasn't home. Then he had an epiphany; he'd kidnap Lindsay and demand a ransom. He knew that Catherine was Sam Braun's daughter and that he'd pay through the nose to get her back.

Still on the floor, Crane amended his plan and decided to go for Lindsay next, as she would be the easiest to get to. All he had to do was get her from her school or when she was on her way home. He knew that Lindsay walked to and from school every day and thusly, she made an easy target.

Summoning up all his strength, he managed to wiggle his way free of the fallen floor and stood up. He jumped up and down a few times to make sure nothing was broken and after that he checked his watch. It was 06:00hrs and that gave him just enough time to make it to Catherine's neighbourhood and park his car a few blocks from the house. He hid behind a shrub and waited for Lindsay to walk by. He could hear her approaching, talking with some friends, and he jumped out, grabbed Lindsay and pulled her away from her friends and threw her in the back seat of his car. He locked the doors so she couldn't get out and when they were far enough away he pulled over and wrapped her hands, mouth and eyes with duct tape.

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Catherine had just come off of shift and since Lindsay had a habit of skipping school, she drove to the school to make sure Lindsay showed up. She sat and waited for half an hour before leaving for home. When she got home she went through the house calling Lindsay's name but there was no answer. She tried her cell phone but there was no answer. She called the school to see if she'd made it to homeroom, but she was a no show. Finally, she checked her answering machine and heard a message from Crane demanding $1,000,000 within 24hrs, to be delivered to a specific location. Catherine immediately called Brass and told him of the abduction and ransom demand. An Amber alert was immediately issued and the girls that Lindsay had been walking with reported the abduction as soon as they arrived at the school. Suddenly there was a call on Catherine's house phone and as she checked the caller ID she recognized the number as being Sam's. She picked up and told him what happened along with the ransom demand. Without hesitation Sam asked where the drop point was and Catherine told him that she was waiting for Crane to call back.

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In what used to be the kitchen of the old house Lindsay was tied and taped to a chair in the middle of the room. Her eyes and mouth were still taped up, but she tried to listen for any noises that might be beneficial. She couldn't hear the highway, she couldn't hear anything except Crane's footsteps sounding like he was pacing.

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The time came and Crane used Lindsay's cell phone to call Catherine's house, unaware that there was a communications post set up in her living room. The house line rang and Catherine picked up after two rings. The conversation was brief; too brief for a trace. The drop point was to be at Lake Meade, at the base of the southernmost map kiosk, behind the trashcan. Strict instructions were given that if Crane even smelled police that he would not hesitate in killing Lindsay, but Catherine and Sam had a plan. They would borrow one of Grissom's snakes so that when Crane opened the bag to check the money the snake would bite him and he'd have no choice but to seek medical attention, lest he die from the venom. They chose Grissom's Egyptian Black Asp, as they were very poisonous and the venom acted quickly.

Though the call was brief, a triangulation was made. The call came from somewhere in the desert near I-15. Since there weren't many houses on that particular stretch of road, they were able to narrow their search. To about fifteen square miles outside downtown Vegas. Immediately, cars were dispatched to search the zone while Catherine made the drop at the designated point. In her mini-van, Catherine had six plain clothed officers and Grissom; three to be dropped two miles south of the drop zone, three to be dropped north of the drop zone and Grissom would be in the woods near the kiosk. If Grissom couldn't get Crane with the bag, then the other officers would block the road and stop Crane. That particular stretch of road was the only way in or out of the area. With Crane driving with a snake bite, they'd catch him, arrest him and take him to hospital for treatment. Both of these events would be occurring at the same time, so when Crane was away from the house the search for Lindsay could go on and at Meade Crane could be caught.

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Hiding in the woods near the drop zone, one of the officers radioed that a car had just passed by and the driver fit the description of Crane. A couple of minutes later a car pulled up at the kiosk and parked. The driver got out and checked behind the trashcan. He crouched down and saw the bag moving. He pulled out a pocket knife and sliced the bag open and was surprised when a snake slithered out and into the woods heading straight for Grissom who had come prepared with a snake stick and a burlap sack. As soon as Crane realized what was going on, he grabbed the bag and jumped into his car. He floored it back in the direction he had come from and just as he hit the two mile mark, the officers ran out of the woods and trained their guns on Crane's car, but he just kept on coming; nearly running them down. They fired as he passed and one of the officers hit the right rear tire; flattening it. He continued to floor it back to the old house. When he hit the downtown district he grabbed the bag, ditched the car and hotwired a new one from a strip club parking lot.

Now that he had a new set of wheels he had a new sort of freedom. He knew that he was being followed by police, but he had a good lead on them and he lost them when they hit downtown. He sat and watched as squad cars drove up and down the strip looking for the old car. Crane had managed to make it a couple of blocks before he parked and waited for the strip to quiet down.

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Driving out I-15 the patrol cars stopped at every house alongside the road and made their presence known by knocking on doors and searching properties.

Still taped to the chair, Lindsay could hear a vehicle coming down the drive. She could also hear vehicle doors opening and closing with footsteps approaching. She could hear movement on the front porch and one man telling another man to go round' the back of the house. With one officer in front of the house and another behind, Lindsay made as much noise as she could. Outside, the officer could hear a rattling from inside and radioed his partner to join him. The first officer peered in the back window that just happened to be the kitchen window and saw her taped to the chair. He immediately radioed base and told them that Lindsay had been found and was in the process of being extricated. He did not call for back-up; figuring his partner would be enough. He kicked the back door open and entered the house.

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Driving down the dirt driveway, Crane could see the squad car parked in front of the house and pulled a gun from under the driver's seat. He parked the car and cautiously got out and made his way towards the house. With both officers inside they could not hear him coming down the drive, nor could they hear him circling the house round' the back. While the officers were occupied with freeing Lindsay from her chair they were unaware of Crane standing in the doorway; his gun aimed at them.


	5. Chapter 5

The two officers were otherwise occupied when Crane announced his presence by means of a "Yoo Hoo" whistle. They turned round' just in time to get shot. One officer took one in the vest and another just above and to the right of the protective plate, immediately dropping him. The other officer got one in the knee, another in the neck and another in the upper inside thigh; right in the femoral artery. He dropped to the floor as blood began to pool around him. The first officer took a bit longer to bleed out, but within minutes they were both dead. 

So, let's recap, shall we? That's one elderly man and two officers dead. One little old lady bound and kept against her will, one bratty little girl kidnapped and five attempts against two CSI personnel. Am I missing anything?

Crane had to think quick. He dragged the officers into the mine and set them afire. Next, he drove their car round' the back of the house and into the mine and torched it as well; leaving no evidence. He locked the mine gate when he was done and since he had the money, he left Lindsay to rot and went in search of another hideout. He didn't know if the officers had called for back up, but with all the time it took him to burn the bodies and torch the car, he figured no one was coming.

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It was a week since Greg had woken up and he was being released into Grissom's charge. Carefully and cautiously, Greg was transferred from the hospital to Grissom's apartment, under cover of a police escort. Once at the apartment two of the officers carried Greg up the stairs while Grissom unlocked his door and disengaged the security system. The officers set Greg on the couch and left the two men alone. Under Brass's orders, there was to be a guard outside the apartment whenever Grissom was at the lab.

With Greg being nearly totally immobile it was hard for him to get around. He was almost totally dependent on Grissom and the officers that were charged with watching him. Occasionally, when he'd have to go to the bathroom or get some coffee or some other such task, he'd have to ask the officer to come in and help him. After a couple of days he and Grissom decided that Greg needed a home care specialist for the duration of his immobility.

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Since the money drop the police were going over the houses that had been searched. All houses had been reported as having been searched, save for one; the house that Lindsay was in. On a map, all the houses were marked and the one that wasn't; well, more officers would search that particular house within the hour.

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Parched for water and starved for food, Lindsay sat in the abandoned house where Crane had left her for dead. She couldn't hear the car coming down the drive or the car doors close. Nor could she hear the officers approaching and circling the house. She was delirious. She thought she was hearing things; things that weren't really there. She didn't realize that there were, in fact, officers at the back door and when they saw Lindsay and the state she was in, they immediately radioed for an ambulance. She was thin and severely dehydrated and she had numerous small animal bites on her face, arms and legs. She'd tried to shake them off, but since she was tied, she couldn't move all that much. At one point she'd moved so much that her chair fell over and she was lying on the floor on her side.

The officers rushed in and freed her from her confines and by the time she'd been totally freed, the ambulance arrived and she was transported to the hospital and treated for malnutrition, dehydration and the animal bites. The doctor gave her a rabies vaccination and placed her on some antibiotics. She would be released a couple of days later and she couldn't go to school and Catherine couldn't take the time off, Lindsay stayed at Sam's ranch while she recovered. She would be there for two weeks; under the careful supervision of Sam. This gave him a chance to bond with his granddaughter.

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Greg was slowly going out of his mind over at Grissom's place. He'd been given strict instructions not to touch anything except for the tellie remote, the coffee maker and other such everyday items. He was to leave Grissom's butterfly collection alone as well as the various critters that he kept at his place.

Two weeks at Grissom's place was like being in a museum; you can look, but you can't touch. His casts were bothering him because the dry skin was all itchy. When his leg no longer hurt and he was certain the broken bone had mended itself, he went into Grissom's workshop and found a pair of heavy duty wire cutters, but those didn't do the job. He hopped into the kitchen and grabbed a serrated kitchen knife and began to cut the cast off, going down the back of his leg. When Crane had attacked him in the vehicle bay he'd only smashed the cast, but didn't break the bone again.

His cast off, Greg found a new sort of freedom. He could walk around in relative comfort, but ate same time he was careful not to put too much weight on his leg. He kept it propped up most of the time. As for his arm, he decided to give it another week before removing the cast. As it was, he could already slip his arm in and out of it with relative ease. He was careful with his leg cast because he wanted to preserve the names and tributes that had been written so he could save it.

When Grissom came home he noticed that Greg was sans one cast and enquired about it.

"I've been wearing this cast for the better part of a month and it was bothering me, so I took it off. But don't worry, I saved the quotes and comments. And don't worry, I'm putting minimal pressure on it. I just want to get back to work. I'm going crazy here. Even if I have to stay at the lab, at least I'll be doing something productive, instead of feeling like a useless lump. " he explained

Thinking for a moment, Grissom empathized with Greg and agreed with him.

"As long as you restrict your activities to the lab, you can go back to work. But what about your arm; its still in a cast."

Greg showed Grissom that he could easily remove the cast and put it back on. He wiggled his fingers to show their motility. Grissom was a bit reluctant to let Greg go back to work, but since Greg had shown him that he was an able bodied person there was really no reason for him to keep Greg holed up at his place.

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Crane was running out of places to hide and was growing ever more impatient with his repeated failures in regard to Greg and Grissom. He didn't care about Lindsay. As far as he was concerned she could sit in that house until she died.

Driving his new car, he went down the strip, thinking of how he could complete his mission. That's when he had a change of plans. To get to Grissom he'd go through Sara. He had observed them on several occasions and it was clear that they had a "THING" going on.

The sun was coming up and as Crane lay in wait for Sara to leave the lab for home, he thought about how he could get Grissom to come over to Sara's apartment. Watching the entrance, he finally saw her exit and go to her car. He drove out of the lot and made sure he got to Sara's place before she did; then he'd ambush her.

Pulling into her parking spot at home, Sara got out and just as she was climbing the steps to her apartment she felt the business end of a gun on her back and an arm around her neck.

"Struggle and I'll shoot you. Scream and I'll shoot you. Do exactly what I tell you to do." he said, forcing her up the stairs. "Unlock your door and lock it behind us."

Sara did as she was told and once in the apartment and the door locked, Crane spoke again.

"Call the lab and tell Grissom to come over." he demanded

Sara pulled out her cell phone and hit Grissom's speed-dial number. The phone rang a couple of times before he answered.

"Hey, Gil. I need you to come over. Why? There's this case that's bugging me and I need your help. Ok. I love you, too."

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Sitting in his office, Grissom was thinking about the call he'd just received. It was kind of cryptic and when she had said she loved him, that made some red flags go up. She'd never said those words before and being the suspicious man that he was, he called Brass and told him about the call and how he thought there was something suspicious about it. Brass agreed and accompanied Grissom the Sara's apartment, followed by two plain clothed cops in an unmarked car. The two officers and Brass went up the stairs first, followed moments later by Grissom.

Grissom knocked on the door and could hear the chain rattling as the door was opened slightly. Peeking out the crack, Sara saw Grissom and mouthed "Help Me" to him. Grissom signaled to Brass and the officers to come over and as the door was fully opened, Grissom stepped in and Brass forced the door completely open, followed by the two officers.

Crane had Sara's hands bound with some parachute cord with his arm around her neck, using her as a shield. He backed them up as he held his gun to her head. Finally, Crane spoke.

"You three, out! This is between Grissom and I. So, as I said, out!" he demanded

"We're not going anywhere." Brass stated

"Unless you want her dead, Gil, I suggest your friends leave now." he shouted

Brass had a clear shot at Crane's legs; he could shoot him in the knees. But for Sara being held hostage, he would. However, since she was Crane's shield, Brass had to be careful. He ordered the other two officers out of the room and they left, but to go around the back of the building. Sara's downstairs neighbour grew roses and one of the officers climbed up the lattice and had an unobstructed view and clear shot at Crane. Crane was oblivious to the man outside the window behind him and began to rant.

"You stopped me at the apartment. You stopped me at the lab. You stopped me at the hospital. You stopped me with your car and you stopped me with my gift to you. This time you'll have to kill me to stop me. And if you kill me then you'll never find that little brat. That snotty little bitch; just like her mother."

Brass's gun was aimed at Crane and he could see the officer out the back window and lowered his gun. Grissom, however, had his gun up the sleeve of his jacket, so all he needed to do was shake his arm and he'd palm the pistol. Looking at the back window, Brass and Grissom could see the officer take aim and that's when Grissom spoke.

"I'm sorry, Sara."

He shook his arm at the same time the outside officer took aim and they both fired at the same time. The outside officer hit Crane in the back and Grissom hit him in the front; the bullet passing through Sara's upper torso. Crane didn't drop, nor did he let go of Sara; in fact, he tightened his grip. Grissom hated shooting Sara and now she was bleeding kind of bad. Crane turned his head to see the officer with his gun still aimed at him. With every passing moment Sara was growing weak from her wound and her shirt was becoming soaked in her blood. Grissom didn't want to shoot her again, and while Crane's head was turned Brass raised his gun again.

"Let her go or I will blow you to kingdom come. he said, aiming

"Well, you'll have to do just that, then." Crane replied

Brass fixed his sights on Crane and realized that in order to get to Crane he'd have to go through Sara. Even though Sara was quite a bit taller than Crane, any bullet that he fired would have to pass through Sara and most likely do some further damage. She was bleeding heavily at this point and she looked like she was going to pass out. Her knees grew weak and she nearly fell to the ground, but Crane kept his hold on her.

They all realized that they couldn't hit Crane without the possibility of hitting Sara. Just then Crane aimed his gun at Grissom and his body shifted enough that in that instant Brass saw a shot and took it. He fired and the bullet went right through Sara's leg and passed through into Crane's thigh. Now, Sara had been shot twice and Crane wasn't letting go. That's when the officer behind Crane fired again and hit him in the head, dropping him immediately. Both Sara and Crane hit the floor and Brass immediately radioed for an ambulance.

Crane was dead, but Sara was severely wounded. She had been hit in the chest. She had been hit in the leg; in the femoral artery, to be exact and she had been hit from behind from the bullet that hit crane. It had passed through his head and lodged itself in Sara's scapula; shattering it. While waiting for the ambulance Grissom and Brass didn't pay any attention to Crane, as he was dead, but they put pressure on Sara's wounds because they were bleeding badly and she was barely alive. She didn't live far from the hospital and the ambulance was there within a few minutes. In the mean time Grissom put a tunicate on her thigh to slow the bleeding while Brass applied pressure to her chest wound. Hearing the sirens coming, Brass got up and hailed the paramedics. Running back inside, he placed pressure on her chest until the medics came in.

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In the hospital OR, Sara's wounds were being treated but since she'd lost so much blood there was little the surgeons could do. They infused her with as much blood as they could while they operated but she was leaking like a sieve. It was as though all the blood they gave her flowed out of her while they were trying to suture her, so they worked fast in hopes that they could stop the bleeding in time to save her life.

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In the waiting room Grissom and Brass waited anxiously for any news from the doctor. They had been waiting for over an hour when her surgeon came to speak with them.

"We worked as fast as we could but she lost a lot of blood. We managed to stop the bleeding; but only time will tell. She's in recovery right now, but she's unconscious. There's no telling how long she'll be that way. She may wake up today or tomorrow; she may not wake up at all. There's very little brain activity, so there's the very real possibility that she may not wake up at all. Does she have a living will?" the doctor explained

Brass stood up and uttered the words that Grissom had spoken the year before when Brass was on the table.

"For medical purposes, I have her power of attourney."

"Well, then, you might have a difficult decision to make." the doctor stated

Running his hand through his very short hair and letting out a heavy sigh, and sat back down in the hard plastic chair. Grissom looked over at him and gave an odd sort of look. He didn't know that she and Brass were that close for her to give him such responsibility over her life. Grissom had loved her in secret for so many years, but never showed the slightest hint as to his affections for her, he supposed Brass was the next logical choice. But what was unknown to him was the fact that Sara and Brass had been seeing each other in secret for almost two years. And in those two years, thinking back, he'd noticed that Sara had become less irritable and more personable than she had previously been. Hindsight being 20/20, Grissom thought about all the times that he'd seen Jim and Sara at the lab, at crime scenes, after shift and at the precinct. Never before, in his life, had Grissom wished he were someone else, but right now he wished he were Jim.

After a few minutes Jim got up and asked at the nurse's station, where Sara was. He was pointed to a curtain area and told that he shouldn't expect too much, as she was still unconscious.

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At the lab, Doc Robbins was currently performing an autopsy on Crane when Nick came in. For some reason, to see Crane dead on a slab brought him some internal joy. Now there was no need to shuffle Greg around and play hide and seek and Greg could finally return to his own place.

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In DNA, Greg was analyzing something when his cell went off. He answered it and was glad to hear Grissom's voice telling him that Crane was dead, but he was saddened to hear of Sara's situation, such as it was. He immediately left the lab and drove one of the trucks to the hospital. Rushing inside, he was met by Grissom and Brass. Sara's condition had not changed since she got out of the OR. He took a seat beside her bed and took her hand in his and began to weep because he felt that it was his fault for her being in this situation.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been about a week since Sara had been shot and Crane had died. She was in her room at Desert Palm Hospital with Brass sitting vigil beside her. Her hand in his, he stared at her face and thought about how Angelic she looked when she was sleeping. He was just getting up to go to the bathroom when he felt a squeeze of his hand. He looked at Sara and saw her eyes barely open. She struggled to speak, but wasn't able to due to her breathing tube. Jim immediately went to the nurse's station and notified the head nurse that Sara was awake and could she have her breathing tube removed. He returned to her room with the nurse in tow and after a few minutes her tube had been removed. With a raspy voice and a shaky hand, she pointed to her lips. Jim removed his lip balm and coated her lips. He'd done this several times before. If he was with her and her lips looked dry or cracked, he'd work his way around the tube and apply the balm to keep her lips moist. He went into the bathroom and returned with a plastic cup of water and a straw. He held it while she drank; and she drank it all. 

After a couple of hours she was just beginning to speak without too much pain. Brass didn't call the lab to let them know she was awake; he wanted her to himself for a little while before the cavalry came rushing in. As Jim sat there, he didn't ask any questions, Sara was answering them all by herself. Everything he wanted to know, she was telling without him having to ask.

"He said that if he couldn't get Grissom alone he'd use me as bait. He still wanted Nick but said that he'd get the ones closest to him first, so that Nick could see his friends drop off one by one and when we were all gone he'd finish the job he'd started with Nick. The guy is nuts." she explained

"Was nuts; he's dead." Jim said, casually

"I was shot. You shot me." she replied

"I'm sorry, but it was the only way to get Crane to let you go."

Sara thought for a couple of moments before she responded.

"Well, I guess if I'm gonna be shot I'd rather it be by you." she said, offering a weak smile

"So, you're not angry with me?" he asked

"No. I know you did what you had to do. The end result speaks for itself, then."

"Well, it wasn't me that killed him, but an officer that had scaled the lattice from your downstairs neighbor's roses. He shot Crane through your kitchen window and that's partially how you were wounded. The bullet went through the back of his head and lodged in your left scapula." he explained

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It had been the better part of a week since Sara had woken up and now she was at home on sick leave. She had two weeks to recoup and get back to 100. She was strong enough, no doubt, but it hurt when she turned her head or put too much weight on her right leg. Her chest hurt every time she sneezed or coughed, but other than that, she was fine. She was going stir crazy and just as she was getting dressed to go into work, Jim showed up. Seeing her dressed and seemingly ready to go somewhere, he asked.

"I'm going nuts sitting around here. I need to do something. I'm tired of watching the tellie all day and listening to my scanner and not being able to do anything about it. I want the action back, Brass." she said

"Yeah, I get you, but shouldn't you be staying off your feet for another few days at least?"

"What is and what should be are oftentimes two very different things, Jim." she countered

Sara grabbed her back pack and set out for her car, only to see that she was blocked in by Jim's car. Turning to look back at him, Sara frowned.

"Would you please move your land yacht so I can go to work?"

"I'd say no, but then you'd just leave when I go in for shift. So, what's the point of arguing?"

Jim got in his car and opened the passenger side door, motioning for her to get in. Jim didn't like the idea of her driving. Hell, he didn't like the idea of her going back to work so soon, but Jim had learned early on that it's a pointless venture to argue with Sara. He waited for her and when she climbed in and buckled up, he put his behemoth of a car in reverse and drove her to the lab. He dropped her off and as she walked inside, he called to her through the passenger's window.

"So, I'll pick you up after shift, then."

She said nothing, but just gave a wave of her hand as she passed through the doors. She was limping a bit and as she made her way down the hall to the locker room, she passed by Grissom's office to find him with his nose buried in a book. Once in the locker room, she sat on the bench in front of her locker. Minutes later she was joined by Greg, who clapped her on her good shoulder and welcomed her back.

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Though she had returned to work, Sara was restricted to the lab. Grissom had given her a stack of case files to keep her busy. Thumbing through the files she found a cold one; one that hadn't been solved. She got up from her seat in the break room and went to the evidence storage room and pulled the proper box from the shelf and carried it back to the break room where she went through the contents of the box piece by piece. Realizing she was taking up too much space, she took the box, the contents and the file to one of the exam rooms. She pulled up a stool so she wouldn't have to stand and sifted through the evidence some more.

After hours of pouring over the evidence before her she found a lead that was never followed up on. She took the information to Grissom who gave her permission to run with it. She ran back to the exam room, grabbed what she needed and took everything out to the lot and dropped it on the passenger seat of her Denali. She pulled out of the lot just as Jim was pulling in. He stopped her and asked her where she was going, to which she answered simply: "I gotta see a man about a horse." Not knowing if she was speaking literally or figuratively, Jim called back.

"Let me park and we can go together."

"Well, hurry up, then." she said as she put the truck in park

Within a couple of minutes Jim opened the passenger door and hopped in. He buckled up and they were off. They headed out to a neighbourhood out by Nellis AFB. They pulled down one of the side streets and into one of the older neighborhoods and parked in front of one of the houses. She took the file folder and opened it; reading from it.

"Ebrill and Dafydd Annwn. What's that, Swedish?" she asked aloud

Jim took the folder from her and looked at it. After a few moments he smiled.

"Its Welsh. I believe the names would be a derivation of Elizabeth and David, but I could be wrong about the names. However, I'm certain its Welsh." he insisted

"Well, wherever they're from, I hope they speak English." she said, getting out of the truck

Jim climbed out as well and followed Sara up the stone path that led to the front door of the house. On the porch, Sara turned to Jim and gave an odd sort of look.

"How do you know its Welsh?" she asked

"When you've been on the job as long as I have, you learn a lot and meet all sorts of people." he replied, simply

She raised her fist to knock on the door, but before her hand made contact, the door opened and they were met with the business end of a double barrel shotgun. Jim immediately drew his service pistol and took aim. Sara showed her ID and pointed to Jim's badge that hung from the outside breast pocket of his suit. However, this didn't do anything to make the man lower his shotgun.

"I'm Sara Sidle and this is Detective Jim Brass. I'm from the crime lab. We're here to ask you a few questions in regard to the homicide last year. The one from next door? The little old lady?" she said in even tones

"You're on my property and you're not welcome. So, if you don't have a warrant, leave." the man said

Lowering his sidearm just a little bit, Jim reissued Sara's statement. The man seemed unphased and didn't lower his firearm.

"I can see that we aren't going to get anywhere, so let's leave." Sara said, backing up

Jim and Sara returned to the truck and sat in front of the house for a few minutes before a few squad cars arrived. Jim and Sara exited the truck again, but this time they were accompanied by six officers. This time Jim knocked on the door and when he was met with the double barrel again, all six officers drew their weapons and aimed at the man.

"We still don't have a warrant, but I did bring a few friends with me this time. So, lower your shotgun or you will be fired upon." Jim said confidently

The man lowered his shotgun and let Jim and Sara enter the house while the officers stood on the porch. Inside, the house was spartan, with very little furniture or anything else to speak of in the way of decoration. Jim and Sara took a seat on the couch and Jim pulled out his little memo pad and took notes while Sara asked the questions.

"So, I know we had you listed as a possible witness to the incident last year, but we never followed up with you. So, what, exactly, did you see? If you can remember that far back."

After a few moments of silence, the man spoke up.

"I saw a man, about six foot, dressed in light colored pants and a dark colored hooded sweatshirt come running out of the house and down the street. While he was running, it looked like he threw something down the storm drain a couple of houses down on the right. After that, I saw the police cars coming and went inside." he said

Having taken the notes, Jim and Sara left the house and walked down the street to the storm drain. Approaching it, Sara pulled out her flashlight and dropped to her knees, shining her light in the drain.

"Damn it, Jim. I can't reach down there. Help me out with this." Sara said, trying to lift the manhole cover

"Sara, I'm fairly certain you shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting, what with your injuries and all." Jim said

He ran back to his car and grabbed a jack handle and returned to Sara's side. With a lot of grunt work and prying, he managed to lift the lid, but not before throwing his back out. As soon as he lifted and slid the lid off to the side, he could feel his back crack, and not in a good way. He'd much rather throw his back out by having too much sex with Sara, but you don't always get what you want, right? Looking over at Jim and seeing his suit and the generally disgusted look on his face, Sara decided she'd be the one to go down the drain.

Slowly, she eased herself down the hole and grabbed hold of the metal rungs. Her shoes having little tread, her foot slipped and she fell backwards down the remainder of the hole, landing on her back. It was a ten foot fall and when she reached the bottom she could tell that she hurt something, but never one to give up, she rolled over and shined her light around and that's when she saw the gun. It had settled on a high point of the drain and was relatively dry. She called up for Jim to go to the truck and get an evidence bag, which he did. He dropped the bag down to her and she nudged the gun inside the bag and sealed it up. She tried to get to her feet, but when she made to get up, she just fell back to the ground. Wondering what was taking so long, Jim called down to her.

"You ok down there?" he yelled

After a brief and painful moment she replied.

"No, I'm not. I can't stand up and I think I hurt my back when I landed. Oh, and I think I broke my arm, cause' it hurts like hell." she hollered back

Jim got on his walkie and called for rescue to come and extricate Sara from her hole. Damning his suit, Jim removed his jacket, dropped it on the ground and climbed down the access port for the drain and knelt down beside Sara. She was on the flat of her back with a nasty bump on the back of her head that was bleeding and her arm was visibly broken. Jim could tell this because of the lump of broken bone he could see from under her skin. He looked at her and gave a lopsided grin.

"Damn, I had no idea you were so physically unfortunate. When the bus comes you'll probably get another few weeks of recoup time."

"Great. More time away from work." she grumbled

Within minutes the bus had arrived and the medics were in the process of hoisting Sara out of the storm drain when the sled she was on began to twist in the wind, causing it to slam into the metal rungs, resulting in her hitting her head several times and receiving several facial lacerations on top of the wounds she had already sustained. By the time she was fully out her face was bloody and Jim could see the new injuries. She had broken her nose, had a nice gash above her left eye and a deep cut across her cheekbone and down her jaw line. She was loaded into the back of the bus and rushed to hospital while Jim followed in the truck.

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In the ICU, Sara's arm had been mended and her facial trauma had been sutured. She looked like she'd been mugged. Her back was another story. When she had landed it was on some protrusion and not on something flat. Thusly, she was wearing a back brace. Several hours later she was released into Jim's charge and they drove home; his home, not hers. While Sara was being tended to, Jim took the liberty of going by her place and fixing up a travel bag for her. He didn't like the idea of her being in the state she was in and being all alone, so he decided she'd stay with him for the duration of her convalescence.

When they reached Jim's place, he parked in the drive and helped her out of the car and grabbed her bag from the back seat. Unlocking the front door, he let her enter first and showed her to the guest room. It was roomy enough, with a queen sized bed and private bathroom. He set her bag on the foot end of the bed and asked if there was anything she needed. She only asked about the bag.

"Well, while you were in surgery, I went by your place and packed a few things. I don't like the idea of you being home alone while you are like you are, so you're welcome to stay here as long as you like." he said, cheerily

"Thanks, man." she replied

Sara moved up the length of the bed and lay down. She was tired from all the pain killers and anesthetics that she'd been given; she even got a tetanus booster. This was necessary because of all the facial trauma that had been caused by the metal rungs on her way out of the hole. Her face was all swollen from the trauma and all she wanted to do was go to sleep. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out like a light.


	7. Chapter 7

Sara woke the sound of the coffee grinder and the smell of fresh brewed coffee. She got up and went into the kitchen to find Jim cooking something. The smell was wonderful and as she approached she could tell what he was making; Belgian waffles with strawberry topping and powdered sugar, accompanied by scrambled eggs and home fried potatoes. She watched as Jim worked his magic. She had no idea that Jim was so useful in the kitchen; and not just cleaning, either. 

When he was done, he set two plates on the dining room table along with the coffee and some fresh squeezed orange juice. He didn't use the juicer because he didn't want to wake her too soon, so he hand squeezed the juice and pulp from the oranges.Turning round', Jim saw Sara watching him. He was dressed in jeans and a tank-top and bare feet. She loved the way he looked when he went ultra casual as opposed to his usual suit and tie; which she loved as well, but she preferred the look he was sporting now.

Jim approached Sara and began to check her head wounds and sutures on her face. They were a nice, deep shade of purple and some bruising had yet to make itself evident. Truth be told, she looked like she'd been mugged. However, to Jim she was still beautiful; she was always beautiful to him. For the longest time he'd admired her from afar, but knowing that she had a thing for Grissom, he'd held back. But since her and Grissom's blow-up the previous year, Brass made his move and much to his surprise she'd been very receptive. At present, they'd been seeing each other on the sly for the better part of a year. It was hard to hide their relationship from a gaggle of investigators, but they'd been successful so far. The bit about him having her medical power of attourney was kind of a give away, especially since Brass had said it with Grissom present.

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In his office, Grissom had his head buried in a book when Brass came in. He sat in a chair opposite Grissom and sighed.

"She's going to need another few weeks of leave. She hurt her back pretty good and her arm is broken, this time." he explained

Looking at him with an odd expression on his face.

"Well, if she needs it she's got it. I took a look at her folder and she's got more than enough time. She's got her sick leave and she's got her vacation time. If need be, she can tap into her vacation time. But if I'm right, she'll be back in a few days. She can't sit still for long. If she comes back to the lab again, before her time is up, she'll be restricted to the building." he said

"Yeah, that's what happened last time she came in before time and she would up on her back at the bottom of a storm drain. This time she can't be permitted to leave the building." Jim said

Looking at the roster for the night and the cases, Grissom looked up.

"Well, Nick had a solo tonight, so when he comes back she'll assist him. They work well together. Or I could have her assist Greg; he had a solo tonight as well." Grissom stated

"I don't care who she helps, but we just have to keep her in the building." Brass said

Right at that moment Grissom saw Sara come walking down the hall with a cane. He called out to her and she joined Brass in Gil's office. They both looked at her with disapproving expressions.

"Ok, here's the deal. We all know you can't sit still for long before going crazy, so you can work in the lab. You are not permitted to leave the building. When Nick returns, you'll assist him with his case. Deal?" Grissom explained

"Look, we all know what happened and that you're technically on leave, but you have to promise us you'll comply and stay in the lab. No field trips, no taking the truck to follow leads and you have to be restricted to the lab. We can't risk you getting injured again." Brass said

"I understand. I just want to do my job. You can cancel my leave because I won't be sitting at home for three weeks. If I need a break, I'll just take a day or two, but for the most part I'll come in everyday." she said

With the terms having been agreed to, Sara waited for Nick to return so she could assist him in his case. She knew there was a car involved because a tow truck had just showed up at the back gate and the car had been loaded on to the rack. Just as she looked inside the car with benefit of her flashlight, Nick showed up. Sara explained that she was to help him on his case and as he asked her to bring in the evidence bags.

Sara had brought the bags into the vehicle bay and set them to the side. She asked Nick the particulars of the case and about the car.

"Well, I collected the evidence from where the car was found and had the car towed here so I can collect any evidence from the inside and exterior of the vehicle. I suggest you get a jumpsuit; there was a body in the trunk. Messy work." Nick explained

Sara grabbed a jumpsuit from the supply closet and suited up. She had her kit and as she examined the trunk Nick took the inside of the car. There was decomp enough in the trunk as well as blood and other nasty stuff. The body had been in the trunk for a week; as was David's best estimate. He took the body and left the car for Nick to process.

From the trunk, Sara recovered several bullets and sent them to Bobby for inspection and striation comparison. The body was with the coroner being autopsied for cause of death and other bodily injuries. Nick left Sara so that he could witness the exam. The stench was almost unbearable, so Nick and Doc. Robbins wore face masks. This was not the smelliest body Nick had encountered, but it was near the top of the list. As the good doctor made his "Y" incision and removed the breastplate, there was much to be seen. The body had only one kidney, no spleen and polyps on the lungs; this man had cancer. However, the cause of death had been determined as being from a gunshot to the head as well as some serious blunt force trauma to the head.

After the autopsy, Nick returned to the vehicle bay to find Sara working on the inside of the vehicle. First she'd collected all the visible evidence in the form of empty plastic bottles, cigarette boxes and other bits of trash. When all the evidence had been collected, bagged and documented, she set an aerosol superglue emitter on the centre console, between the two front seats and closed the doors. She was in the process of examining the evidence that Nick had brought back when he went through what she'd found in the trunk and inside of the car.

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It had been a long shift and Sara was glad to leave so that she could go home and shower. She smelled like dead body and she wanted the stench off of her. When it was time to leave Jim was idling in front of the lab, waiting for her. She climbed in and they drove back to Jim's place where he handed her two lemons that had been cut up. She took the lemons into the bathroom and rubbed them on her skin before showering.

Jim took his own shower in his bathroom and when he had finished he dressed in sweats and t-shirt. In her room, Sara dressed in the same manner as Jim and then padded out into the kitchen for some coffee. Jim was checking his e-mail one last time before he went to bed and noticed Sara at the coffee pot. He didn't tell her that it was decaf because he didn't want her to be up for hours if she was going to go in next shift. When he was done, he got up from his desk and told Sara goodnight and excused himself to go to bed.

It was about an hour after Jim had gone to sleep that Sara decided to do the same. She washed her coffee mug, set on the drying rack and went to her room. She climbed under the soft flannel sheets and down comforter and slowly fell to sleep.

Jim woke to the sound of Sara screaming and jumped out of bed to see what the matter was. She was still asleep, but for some reason she was screaming for help. Jim sat on the bed beside her and shook her awake. Her eyes full of sleep, she slowly woke and looked around; a far off look on her face. It was when she saw Jim that she realized something was wrong.

"What's the matter, hun?" he asked

"God, I was having a really bad dream. Crane was there and he had a gun to your head. He was threatening to shoot you for some reason. Then, all of a sudden he pulled the trigger and I saw you drop to the ground; dead. I rushed to your side, cradled your head in my lap and shouted "NO!" I couldn't bear to lose you. I can't bear to lose you." she explained

"What are you saying?" Jim asked

After a moment's hesitation, she replied

"I love you, Jim. I think I've always known that. Nearly from the moment we first met, I liked you. As the years have passed, I've grown to love you. Every time you put yourself in harm's way, my heart sinks within my chest. Every time I hear of an officer involved shooting, either on the news or on my scanner, I'm afraid its you. I know you don't share my feelings and that's ok with me. Just know that there's someone out there that loves you; someone that's not far away." she went on

This was a lot of information for him to assimilate. He knew that she liked him as a friend, but never in his wildest dreams did he think that she loved him. Truth be told, he loved her, too. However, he didn't want to say anything; out of fear of being shot down. Now he knew the truth and was more comfortable with his feelings. He wondered if he should tell her of his feelings for her. Since she had been honest and open with herself and feelings, should he not do her the same courtesy? Should he open up to her in the same way that she had him? He hesitated for a few moments and then spoke.

"Truth be told, I've loved you from afar for many years. But I know you have a thing for Grissom, so I dare not make any advance. So, as I said, I've loved you from afar." he said simply

Sara looked at him and saw the emotion in his eyes and the expression on his face. There was no lie in what he said, nor was there in what she had said; but what would they do now, knowing what they now knew? Part of Sara wanted to grab hold of him and give him a big fat kiss, but there was another part of her that said she should wait and that things would happen in their own time. Jim was thinking the same exact thing and as he got up from her bedside he leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead and went back to his room where he'd get no more sleep that day, no matter how hard he tried. As for Sara, she pulled her diary from her backpack, unlocked it and made that morning's entry. It was in regard to the discussion she'd had with Jim and his reaction to her words and expression of feeling and emotion. When she had completed her entry she closed and locked it and left it on her bedside table. She tried to go back to sleep but no matter how hard she tried, sleep eluded her.

After about an hour of flopping around, she got up and went into the living room and sat on the couch, flipping through the channels. She kept the volume low so she wouldn't wake Jim, but it was useless; he was already awake.

Propping his head up on a couple of pillows, Jim lay in his bed and took the tellie remote in hand and hit "play" on the dvd player. He was watching a movie that always helped him sleep, not because it was boring, but because he'd seen it so many times he could close his eyes and watch the film in his mind. The movie; Lawrence of Arabia, the extended version. It wasn't enough that the movie was nearly three hours long alone, but this version had footage that had originally been left on the cutting room floor. This version was nearly four hours long.

From the living room, Sara could hear the tellie in Jim's room and after a few minutes she realized what film he was watching. She got up and knocked on Jim's bedroom door. He called out for her to enter and as she slowly opened the door, he lifted the covers beside him on the bed and patted the mattress, beckoning her to join him. She slipped in next to him and made herself comfortable beside him. She lay on her side with her arm cautiously draped across Jim's belly and her head rested on his chest. He wrapped his right arm around her and drew lazy circles on her back with his fingertips.

With each other's comfort and the sheer feeling of companionship, each of them fell asleep within a relatively short period of time. The movie continued to run and when it was over, the dvd player and tellie automatically shut off, leaving them to sleep in silence. They slept until around 4:pm when the alarm went off. Neither of them having gotten any real sleep, Jim set the alarm for 7:pm. That would give them 1 hour to get dressed and get to the lab on time.

The second time the alarm went off both of them woke and got dressed and left for the lab so that Jim could drop Sara off and he could make it to the station on time.

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Walking down the hall, Sara made for the locker room to drop her stuff off and after that she went in search of Nick who was in one of the exam rooms going over the evidence from the previous night's case. He'd made no real headway on the case, but Bobby had reported to him that the bullets that had been recovered from the body and the car came from a gun that had been used in an officer related shooting two years past in Washington DC. The officer, Danielle Schaffrath, had been killed during a crack house raid. Now the gun was in Vegas and had been used to kill another officer, as it turned out. The body in the trunk of Nick's evidence car was an officer from Los Angeles. Seems like this particular firearm didn't like cops.


End file.
